February 2002
Welcome to the website

January was a landmark month in the fight against foot and mouth disease, with Northumberland being reclassified by Defra as FMD free. All counties in Britain now have FMD-free status so far as livestock movements are concerned, and while this is not the official end of the crisis, as restrictions remain on some individual farms and also on exports, it has been a welcome turn of events for the farming community and environmental health departments alike. Many EHOs who spent months working in the front line of the epidemic have bitterly criticised the Government's handling of the crisis - with the decision to burn culled animals on pyres sited without prior consultation with local authorities causing particular concern.

Peter Daley and Dr Richard Hill present the results of air and soil pollution studies undertaken at two sites in Cumbria in April and June last year. Given the limited resources available to local authorities for implementing contaminated land strategies, Simon Makoni argues that site prioritisation systems will be a key tool in deciding which sites warrant action first. He assesses some of the options. On another topical note, Nick Warburton reports on the grim prospect of a UK "fridge mountain", following the implementation of an EU regulation on the disposal of waste refrigeration equipment, which came into effect at the begining of this year. What will the new regulations mean for environmental health departments? Julie Barratt also looks at the "far-reaching consequences" in EHJ's regular legal column.

Finally, it has taken over a decade of campaigning, but at last there are moves by the Government to address long-held concerns about the safety of "lawn memorials" in graveyards. Deirdre Mason reports on the problems faced by local authorities due to the lack of standards.

Tracey Khanna, Editor
EHJ
A POISONOUS PLUME
Now that the foot and mouth crisis has subsided, Peter Daley and Dr Richard Hill assess how hazardous the burning pyres were to the public's health
A QUESTION OF PRIORITY
Local authorities face a huge increase in workload under the new contaminated land regime. Prioritisation will be essential for local authorities and Simon Makoni looks at the choice of systems available
A MOUNTAINOUS TASK
Is a lack of foresight and planning likely to lead to huge refrigerator moutains and increased fly tipping?
A GRAVE SITUATION
Unstable memorial stones have finally been recognised by the Government as a public health issue. Deirdre Mason explains why out of date legislation is contributing to injury and death in cemeteries
PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST
Could the Government's performance management culture be harming the environmental health service? John Corkey argues that this policy will lead to a lowering of standards and needs to be challenge
CLEANER AIR IN THE PIPELINE
The old 1988 directive on emissions from large combustion plants is about to see a revamp and the EU is introducing a new directive setting national emission ceilings for certain key pollutants.